Device for operating electric lights in railway-carriages from the guard&#39;s van.



Patented May 6, I902.

No. 695,4l2.

E. J. PRESTON &. A. B. GILL.

DEVICE FOR OPERATING ELECTRIC LIGHTS IN RAILWAY CARBIAGES FBCIII THEGUARDS VAN.

(Application filed Dec. 8, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED PATENT EDWIN JAMES PRESTON, OF BEOKENHAM, AND ARTHUR BERNARDGILL, OF BLAOKHEATH PARK, ENGLAND.

DEVlCE FOR OPERATING ELECTRIC LIGHTS IN RAILWAY-CARRIAGES FROM THEGUARDS VAN.

SPECIFIGATIQN forming' part of Letters lPatent No. 699,412, dated May 6,1902.

Application filed December 8, 1899. Serial No. 739,669. (No model.)

.To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, EDWIN J AMES Pans- TON, engineer, residing atKelsey Cottage, Beckenham and ARTHUR BERNARD GILL, engineer, residing atGlencot, Blackheath Park, in the county of Kent, England, subjects ofthe Queen of Great Britain, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Electric- Lighting Systems, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention has the object to switch on or off sets of electric lightswithout direct mechanical means, and is especially applisolenoid andgear attached thereto for operating the electrically-operated switch.Fig. 3 is a front elevation, also partly in section, of the sameapparatus.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

The invention is especially desirable in the so-called Stone. system oftrain-lighting, for which patents have been obtained under No. 602,182,dated April 12, 1898, and No. 617,121, dated January 3, 1899, but isalso applicable to other systems of electric lighting.

A, Fig. 1, representsa hand-switch, which is accessible to the guard orperson in charge of the lighting system, and B a solenoid orelectromagnet.

0 represents the battery or other source of current, which is connectedby conductors or wires 1 and 2, contact 3, rotating commutator 4,contact 5, wire 6 to one half of the lamps (marked D) and also bycontact 7, 1'0- tating commutator 8, contact 9, wire 10 to the otherhalf of the lamps, (indicated by the let-' ter E,) the circuit beingcompleted by a wire (marked 11) common to the two sets of lamps and bythe wire 12 back to the battery. The switch A is also connected to thewire 1 and permits of connection being made with the wire 13 to thesolenoid B. The other end of the solenoid-coil is connected by a wire14: to the wire 12 to the battery. When the solenoid is excited bymomentarily connecting the wires 1 and 13, the armature F (see Figs. 2and 3) of the said solenoid is attracted, and consequently moves.

To the upper end of the core G is attached indirectly or, as shown,directly a suitablyjointed pawl or finger H, which is preferably fittedwith a roller I instead of a fixed tooth. This pawl H operates a star orpawl wheel K, which is caused to partially rotate in one directionwhenever the armature F is attracted. The armature and core, with thepawl H, is made to move back from the pawl-wheel K after each impulseeither by gravity,as shown, or by means of a spring. The pivoted pawl His also provided with a spring L, which permits of the pawl coming backto the vertical after passing over the next tooth of the pawl-wheel K onits return.

Mounted on the spindle M of the pawl-wheel are the two rotatingcommutators 4 and 8, both of which have insulated parts, (marked N and0, respectively,) which insulated parts cover about a quarter of thecircumferential area of each switch. These rotating commutators havetheir contact parts so arranged as made a stroke and moved thepawl-wheel K a quarter of a revolution. The result is that the-currentfrom the battery flows through the wires 1 and 2 by way of contact 3,contact-maker of the commutator 4:, contact 5,

wire 6 to lamps D, and thence by the wires 11 and 12 to the other poleof the battery. A second stroke of the pawl moves the wheel K and itscommutators the second quarter of a revolution, the effect of which willbe to allow the current to pass by way of the wires 1 and 2, contact 3,contact-maker of the commutator 4, contact 5, and wire 6 to lamps D andalso by way of contact 7, contact-maker of the commutator 8, contact 9,and wire 10 to lamps E, and thence by the wires 11 and 12 to the otherpole of the battery. A third stroke of the pawl H causes the wheel tomake the third quarter of a revolution, and the current will continue toflow through the commutator 8, as just described, to the lamps E; butthe insulated portion N of the commutator 4: is now in contact with thecontact 5, the result of which is that the lamps D are switched off. Afourth stroke of the pawl H causes the commutator-s to move anotherquarter of a revolution, the result of which will be that the insulatedportion 0 of the commutator Sis now in contact with the contact9 and theinsulated portion N of the commutator at is in contact with the contact3 and no current can pass through either commutator to the lamps. Hencethey are cut out. On causing the pawl H to make another stroke the lampsD are again lighted, and so on.

The solenoid, the contacts, and the other parts are suitably put in abox or casing and fixed in or outside of the car, all as found mostconvenient.

Although we have described our invention as being applicable to one car,it is evident that it (the invention) is equally applicable to a trainof cars by providing each car with a solenoid, contacts, andconnections, as described, and by connecting the cars togetherelectrically a weak current from the battery or a dynamo on one carsufficing to operate the core of the solenoid and the commutator 011each car. The dotted lines in Fig. 1 indicate the connections andsolenoids diagrammatically for two other cars in addition to thearrangement described and shown for one car. F urther, although we havedescribed an arrangement for permitting one half of the lamps to beswitched on, the other half of the lamps to be switched on, the firsthalf of the lamps to be switched off, and finally the remaining half ofthe lamps to be switched off, it will be apparent that we do not wish tolimit ourselves to such a refinement of construction, for it is evidentthat in many cases, and especially where there is only one lamp for eachcompartment, (if there be compartments,) that a single simple commutatormay be employed and one set of lamps and connections for each car,permitting of switching on and off by one stroke of the pawl,respectively. Finally, there may, on the other hand, be three or morecommutators and the necessary apparatus and three or more sets of lampsin each car, if required.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

The combination with the main electric circuit, a plurality oftranslating devices each arranged in a branch of said main circuit, anda plurality of switches each arranged in and controlling one of saidbranches, of an electromagnet, a shunt-circuit in which saidelectromagnet is arranged, a hand-switch arranged in said shunt-circuitand by which the current is controlled which actuates saidelectromagnet, and mechanism operated by said electromagnet to move saidswitches to successively close said branches, and also operated by saidelectromagnet to move said switches to successively open said branches,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWIN JAMES PRESTON. ARTHUR BERNARD GILL.

Witnesses:

WALTER J. SKERTEN, W. M. HARRIS.

